Life Sciences Commons^™

Engineering Chromoprotein Variants With New Colors, Anna Bowman, Joel S. Griffitts, Kyler Fullmer

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2025

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Individual Behavioral Variation Of Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus) As An Indicator Of Human Elephant Conflict, Julia Brzezicki

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) is an increasingly common event that arises from resource competition due to overlaps in human and elephant environments. Using a conservation behavior approach, the behaviors of elephants can be studied to enhance conservation efforts to mitigate HEC by better predicting which elephants engage in HEC. To understand the factors that affect individual behavioral types of adult Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), my project examined the behavioral patterns displayed by an elephant population in Sri Lanka. I collected demographic and behavioral data of a subset of 15 adult elephants to determine individual differences in five behavioral categories: Affiliation, aggression, …

A Systematic Study Of The Highly Endemic Spider Beetle Fauna (Coleoptera: Ptinidae: Ptininae) Found In The Coastal Deserts Of Perú, Marlena Askren

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Spider beetles are small, often flightless insects that occur in hyperarid environments around the world. They exhibit interesting morphology and behavior that allows them to conserve water they obtain from plant material, dung, and other detritus. One hyperarid region in which they are found is the Pacific coast of Perú and northern Chile. The Sechura Desert, Peruvian Coastal Desert, and Atacama Desert make up the arid coast where spider beetles occur from north to south. Through multiple years of field work and museum collections, populations of spider beetles were found along the coast in isolated pockets of vegetation, separated by …

Can Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters Predict State Anxiety?, Stephanie M. Cotariu, Ashlyn M. Jendro, Yale B. Hughes, Abigail C. Schmitt

2025 Honors Symposium

Background: Anxiety is one of the most experienced mental health disorders. Recent research has suggested a relationship between gait parameters and anxiety, however the disparity in measurement methodologies of both anxiety and gait makes it difficult to draw broad conclusions. Better understanding the relationship between anxiety and gait mechanics creates opportunity for a more holistic understanding of the interaction between mental health, functional capacity, and quality of life. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate if spatiotemporal gait parameters measured on a pressure-sensing walkway are related to anxiety.

Comparing Gait Patterns Of Individuals With And Without Cancer, Anna C. Gardner, Abigail C. Schmitt, Ashlyn M. Jendro, Nicholas P. Greene

2025 Honors Symposium

This study investigates the effects that cancer has on gait variables focusing on gait speed, step length, and stride width, and compares participants with cancer to participants without known disease.

Sports Injury Prevention - Epidemiological Analysis Of Concussion Mechanisms In Female Soccer Players: A Review Of Neiss Data (2020–2023), Caroline A. Bertalotto

2025 Honors Symposium

Background/Introduction: Concussions are a significant concern in women’s soccer, with many studies showing that women have a higher rate of having them than compared to men. The number of concussions in athletes have raised concerns about long-term health and calls for a deeper look into ways to prevent them from occurring. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to review the epidemiological data related to the mechanisms of concussions as a result of soccer, specifically within female participants.

The Sellar Barrier’S: An Important New Concept In Pituitary Surgery., Juan F. Villalonga, Alvaro Campero

Archives of Neurosurgery

The sellar barrier's concept was created by our team in Tucumán in 2019. There are currently 3 well-defined subtypes: strong, weak and mixed. Published case series studies indicate that there is a strong correlation between radiological, intraoperative findings and risk of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage. Patients with weak sellar barrier have more risk of intraoperative CSF leak. The strong sellar barrier is a protective factor for intraoperative CSF leak. The sellar barrier's concept is useful for clinical-surgical practice and for the physician-patient relationship.

Understanding Injury Risk In Female College Dancers: The Interplay Of Mobility And Strength, Audrey Clark

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

INTRODUCTION: Female college dancers present a unique set of demands that contribute to a risk of injury different from other sports. Two of the primary physical demands of dance, mobility and strength, are also known risk factors for non contact injuries. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between mobility, strength, and non contact injuries in female college dancers and add to the current gap in literature. METHODS: Participants (n=10) completed an injury history, hand-grip assessment, Functional Movement Screen (FMS), and monthly follow up injury surveys during the duration of the study. Means, standard deviations, correlations, and …

Biocultural Mobility: The Impact Of Osteoarthritis On Rural Kentuckians, Alexandria Anderson

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic degenerative joint disease that results in joint pain and loss of joint function, and it is rising in prevalence alongside an aging population. OA has a complex etiology, with various biological, mechanical, and sociocultural factors affecting its acquisition and progression. Like most diseases, OA has a differential prevalence among populations; it is disproportionally more common in underserved communities, including rural areas. This thesis presents (1) a study comparing selected OA treatment type and patient travel time, (2) a study comparing OA comorbidity amount and rurality, and (3) a discussion of exploratory interdisciplinary methods in …

Effect Of Ph And Iron Chelate On The Growth Of Basil And Soybean In Soilless Media, Christian Baker, Bruce Bugbee

Nutrients

Iron (Fe) deficiencies are common in alkaline root zones and can cause chlorosis and reduce growth. The most common approach to prevent deficiency is using synthetic chelates that keep iron in solution at high pH. Here we report the effects of pH and chelate type on the development of chlorosis and biomass in soybeans and basil. We grew the plants at a pH ranging from 6.0-7.8. Fe was chelated with either a less expensive EDTA chelate or a more expensive EDDHA chelate. There was no significant difference between chelates at pH 6.0 in either soybeans or basil. In soybeans, there …

Medicare Mandates For Shared Decision Making With Patient Decision Aids: Linking Payment To Preference, Thaddeus Mason Pope, Jd, Phd

Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences

Since 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has increasingly required shared decision making with evidence-based patient decision aids as an essential Medicare condition for payment. CMS is doing this because it recognizes that most healthcare is preference sensitive and value laden. So, whether treatment is “right” or “beneficial” for a patient is not only a matter of clinical expertise. It equally depends on the patient’s values, preferences, and goals. So, CMS wants to ensure that patients understand the risks, benefits, and alternatives to the healthcare that they receive and for which CMS pays. In short, under its …

Reducing Discrimination In Organ Transplant Candidacy Evaluation Against Persons Who Use Drugs, Hannah Rahim, Bhsc

Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences

Many organ transplant centers deny persons who use drugs eligibility for receiving a transplant because of concerns about the impact of drugs on transplant success. These policies are often not based on sufficient medical evidence and are highly variable between transplant centers. Restricting persons who use drugs from organ transplantation can exacerbate existing racial and geographic inequities in access to organ transplantation. This paper explores discrimination against persons who use drugs in organ transplantation. I examine when considering a patient’s drug use in organ transplant eligibility assessment is illegal and when it is immoral and I offer recommendations for statutory, …

Endoscopic–Assisted Surgery For Cerebello Pontine Angle Pathology: Technical Note And Surgical Results In A Series Of Patients, Jaime Jesus Martinez Anda, Pablo David Guerrero Suarez, Diego Pineda Martínez, Rafael Avendaño Pradel, Ernesto Javier Jurado Delgado, Ricardo Santiago Villlagrana Sánchez, Juan Carlos Cisneros Lesser, Carolina De La Llata Segura, Rogelio Revuelta Gutiérrez

Archives of Neurosurgery

Objectives: Endoscopic–assisted surgery combined with the operating microscope has been described for several surgical techniques and pathologies of the cerebellopontine angle (CPA). The use of an endoscope allows for a panoramic view of the CPA cistern and a high degree of maneuverability in narrow cisternal spaces that enable the surgeon to deal with most CPA lesions safely. We performed an observational study to describe the surgical anatomy and technique for endoscopic-assisted CPA surgery, describing our experience in a case series of patients with CPA pathology. Methods: Anatomical and surgical technique description of endoscopic-assisted surgery for CPA pathology, based on observations …

Characterization Of Legionella Pneumophila Effector Protein Ceg10, Emmanuella Ofoka

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, utilizes a Type IV secretion system (T4SS) to transport effector proteins into host cells. This bacterium is said to have over 300 effector proteins. Among these, the Ceg10 effector protein had remained uncharacterized, despite evidence suggesting the importance of bacterial effector proteins in the host-pathogen interaction. This study aimed to perform a structural and functional characterization of Ceg10 through transcriptomic, bioinformatics, and molecular analyses. Transcriptomic profiling of HEK 293T cells expressing Ceg10 revealed significant differential gene expression, with approximately 20 upregulated genes, including leucine-rich repeat, as well as other downregulated genes. …

Kettlebell Swings As A Conditioning Activity On Standing Power Throw: Exploring Post-Activation Performance Enhancement In Rotc Cadets, Knik Durman

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) is a neuromuscular phenomenon where high-intensity conditioning activities (CA) temporarily improve explosive performance. While resistance and ballistic exercises are well-studied for PAPE, the effectiveness of kettlebell swings (KBS) in enhancing Standing Power Throw (SPT) performance remains unclear. Given the SPT’s role in the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), identifying effective PAPE strategies could improve ACFT scores. Using a randomized crossover design, this study examined whether KBS before the SPT enhanced throw distance in 19 ROTC cadets (male: n = 17, female: n = 2). Participants completed two conditions: (1) KBS (two sets of five reps with …

The Effects Of Cold Immersion On Motor Consolidation, Manly Barksdale

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Several physiological mechanisms elicited by exercise have been shown to enhance the encoding of newly learned motor skills. Cold water immersion (CWI) of at least 14°C (57.2°F), a common recovery tactic following exercise, can elicit the upregulation of similar mechanisms (lactate, norepinephrine, and epinephrine). However, little research has explored a relationship between CWI and motor learning. Therefore, the primary purpose of this investigation was to determine the impact of moderate-duration head-out CWI (HCWI) on motor learning measured via Esports tracking task (ETT) and to compare the results to an exercise (EXS) and control (CON) group. Twenty-nine, right-handed, apparently healthy adults …

Diversity And Phylogeny Of Spider Beetles (Ptinidae: Ptininae) In Coastal Chile And Peru, Jacob Bowen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Spider beetles of South America have historically received little systematic study, though now they are the subject of recent diversity surveys and documentation. This investigation contributes to the ongoing exploration of spider beetle diversity in South America by adding records for the recently described Cordielytrum and the yet to be described Furcillifer, as well as constructing phylogenies with new genetic material. MaxEnt was used to create an ecological niche model revealing habitat suitability in Chile and Peru for Cordielytrum, a genus of flightless spider beetles currently known only from Peru. Even with few occurrence records, a model with …

Visualizing And Analyzing The Growth Of Dark Septate Fungi Within Plant Roots, Sophia Mcdade, Mac Johnson, Ilana Fay Zeitzer, Anthony Yannarell

MICRO-CCS student projects

• Plants rely heavily on relationships between plant roots and root associated symbionts like bacteria and fungi
• Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can help plants take up nutrients and limit the uptake of heavy metals
• Previous AMF experimentation in lab led to observation of high quantities of dark septate fungi (DSF) in cold stored roots
• DSF are far less researched than AMF; have melanized and septate hyphae, found to colonize roots worldwide, but growth patterns and potential functions are not yet understood

Mother Knows Best? Effects Of Plant Flooding On Beet Armyworm Ecology., Salome Garcia Arteaga, Minxing Zhu, Satinderpal Kaur, Esther N. Ngumbi

MICRO-CCS student projects

• According to the preference-performance hypothesis also known as ‘mother knows best’, female oviposition preference often correlates with offspring performance.
• This hypothesis has been tested using few stressors; therefore, this study focuses on testing the validity of the ‘Preferences-Performance Hypothesis’ using flooding as stressor.
• Climate change has intensified plant stressors including flooding which can affect plant quality and suitability for oviposition and insect development.
• Previous studies have shown that flooding can alter non-volatile metabolites (Phenolics) and the emission of Volatile Organic Compounds in plants.
• However, whether altered metabolites and volatile emissions impact oviposition performance and offspring development has not been investigated.

Isolating And Characterizing Novel Veillonella Phages And Phage-Resistant Mutants, Luke Huss, Anubhav Basu, Carin K. Vanderpool

MICRO-CCS student projects

• Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that target bacteria.
• Lytic phage infections cause cell destruction, while lysogenic phages integrate into the bacterial genome and excise under certain conditions to become lytic.
• Phage therapy is of growing interest as a possible alternative or enhancement to antibiotic treatment.
• Veillonella parvula is a common oral microbe and has been found to aid the colonization of Porphyromonas gingivalis, a major cause of gum disease.
• Very few phages have been identified for V. parvula and other Veillonella species and none have been characterized or sequenced.

Coffee Farmgate Price And Post-Harvest Processing In Honduras., Isaac Desouza

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Volatile commodity markets and changing climate expose coffee farmers to price and production risk. Proponents recommend specialty coffee as a strategy to combat price risk, because its unique attributes differentiate it from commodity coffee. Extrinsic and intrinsic attributes define specialty coffee and affect prices at many levels of the supply chain. Despite much work on extrinsic attributes, little is known about how intrinsic attributes relate to farmgate price. Post-harvest processing is itself an intrinsic trait and driver of coffee quality. In 2024 we surveyed 261 coffee farmers from La Paz, Honduras, to uncover relationships between capital, post-harvest processing, and farmgate …

Icipe Monthly Digest – Volume 1, Issue 1, January 2025, International Centre Of Insect Physiology And Ecology (Icipe)

icipe Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Atypical Stroke-Like Presentation In A Patient With Mucormycosis, Joseph Crutison, Yasser El-Daour, Dominique Pean

Gulf Coast Division GME Research Day 2025

No abstract provided.

“Science Belongs Everywhere”: Outlooks On Post-Secondary Stem Education For Correctional Centers In Virginia, Shelita R. Augustus

Division of Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success Publications

Virginia has an incarceration rate of 679 per 100,000 residents, the highest among independent democratic nations. This scoping review examines perspectives on post-secondary STEM education to promote STEM education within Virginia's correctional facilities, assesses programs to improve rehabilitation, reduce recidivism, and address systemic inequalities by developing the scientific potential of incarcerated individuals. The review finds that while STEM education in correctional facilities faces limitations, its potential benefits are being realized nationwide. Virginia has made strides through initiatives like House Bill 2158, which aims to expand higher education access for incarcerated individuals. Examples such as the programs at J. Sargeant Reynolds …

Detecting Honeybee Edna With Artificial Flowers, Gabrielle Kiel, Luke Settles, Adam Dolezal

MICRO-CCS student projects

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging method for surveying pollinators where:

● Environmental samples such as flower heads are collected

● DNA is extracted

● qPCR detects the presence of a species

Many survey methods are lethal to pollinators, where eDNA is not. However, a flower’s chemical makeup and size, how long a pollinator spends on it, and sun UV radiation can interfere with collection. Artificial flowers designed by the USGS can standardize eDNA and address some of these concerns. Research Focus: To determine the optimal deployment length of artificial flowers and if a sucrose reward is necessary for …

Assessing Nitrous Oxide Flux In Denitrification-Inhibiting Maize, Emma Mccullough, Sakshi Paudel, Holly Anderson, Angela D. Kent

MICRO-CCS student projects

• Conventional agriculture relies heavily on nitrogen (N) fertilizers to increase short-term crop yields.
• Microbial nitrification and denitrification drive N losses from soil systems.
• Denitrification produces N O, a potent green house gas (GHG).
• Biological denitrification inhibition (BDI) traits are present in the ancestor of modern maize, teosinte.
• Reintroduction of BDI traits into modern maize can reduce GHG production and increase nutrient use efficiency (NUE) as it minimizes soil N losses from denitrification.
• Monitoring N O emissions from BDI-introgressed maize lines can asses GHG reduction and potential NUE gains.

"Dental Health For Mental Wealth": A Comprehensive Analysis Of The Underexplored Impact Of Oral Health And Behaviors On Neurobiology And Psychological Well-Being, Brooke C. Beck

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This thesis explores the link between oral health and psychological state, specifically, the effect of oral health on psychological state and how appropriate oral health impacts this relationship. A review of the literature was conducted and studies interpreted within the scope of oral health’s impact on psychological health and detailing some of the pathways proposed for such a link. The literature search was limited to the English language from well-known databases mainly from 2015 to 2025. A few outliers are present to include foundational information.

The effects of oral disease and oral self-care behaviors were dissected through a biochemical perspective, …

Learning In Nonleafcutting Fungus-Gardening Ants, Elizabeth D. Boshers

Biology Theses

Social complexity influences learning and other cognitive behaviors, but for insects, this influence is not well understood. Delayed rejection is an aversive learning behavior previously studied exclusively in leafcutting ant species, the most socially complex of the fungus-gardening ants. Fungus-gardening ants are unique in that they do not directly consume the material they forage, using it instead as substrate to cultivate a symbiotic fungus on which the ants are obligately dependent. Here, I attempt to induce delayed rejection in several fungus-gardening ant species that exhibit a range of social complexity, then compare the characteristics of delayed rejection behavior among species. …

Germinating Lactuca Sativa Seeds In Treated Hydrothermal Liquefaction Aqueos-Phase (Htl-Ap), Jaden F. Chandler, Camila Bogarin, Liam Reynolds, Brandon Hollenback, Paul C. Davidson

MICRO-CCS student projects

No abstract provided.

Investigating Maternal Inheritance Of Serratia Ureilytica In Squash Bugs Through Its Detection In Eggs And Nymphs, Hazma Salem, Ivan Mina-Zavala, Kacie Athey, Sarah Hind

MICRO-CCS student projects

• Illinois is the top pumpkin-producing state in the United States, growing ~90% of all processing pumpkins.

• Cucurbit Yellow Vine Disease (CYVD) causes substantial damage to important cucurbit crops, including pumpkin and squash.

• CYVD is caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Serratia ureilytica, producing yellowing and vine decline symptoms as well as fruit loss.

• The disease is transmitted by squash bugs (Anasa tristis), which are significant insect pests of many cucurbit crops.

• There is dispute whether transmission of S. ureilytica occurs through a circulative (in the hemolymph) or a non-circulative (within the digestive system) …